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Monday, August 23, 2010

A tree that gives and gives...

Mimosa Tree ~ Albezia julibrissin

Are you familiar with this beauty? At the end of each August, I look forward to driving down this particular street in our little town, just so that I can set my eyes on this wonderful, precious sight. Each summer this tree is covered in delicate (in looks only,) fern like foliage, and a profusion of delicate gossamery pompoms...

This tree creates joy, by just being...

When CG and I visited Kauai (most aptly named "The Garden Isle,") we couldn't help but notice the dense forests that covered much of the island, they were filled with trees that had stunning sculptured trunks and thickly green luscious tree tops resembling giant bouquets of broccoli especially when seen from above. I was curious about the them and did some research to find out more about the trees and discovered they were Albezia's... Apparently they grow so plentifully there, and are such rapid growers, they are almost considered a weed. I say "almost," because it turns out that these exquisite trees give much more than their beauty... Scientists are studying these spectacular trees and have discovered that they produce more nitrogen per acre than any other known plant, and are one of the fastest growing trees in the world. Farmers in Kauai note that under the trees lush grass grows in profusion, due to the nitrogen giving feature of the Albezia...

Imagine..., farming without fossil fuel created fertilizer, running into the streams and poisoning mother earths fragile ecosystems.. Imagine instead fertilizing crops using the leaf and twig material from these heaven sent trees, who's flowers smell like nectar....

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

Hummm ... fast growing? Not here! Two years ago, we took a little offspring of this tree from south-france, then it was about an inch big ... Now it's still alive, doing well and about ... an inch big! Maybe we're doing something wrong or maybe it's gonna surprise us with a giant leap one of those day's ... But you're right, it's a very pretty tree!!!